Mohammed Salamat delivered this anguished poem about his detention on Nauru outside Federal Parliament last Tuesday November 19, 2024. The reality of offshore processing by the Australian government is still very much a fact, in legislation and the news.

Barn of Broken Doors

Australia, is this the land you promised,

Where hope once bloomed, now dreams lie demolished?

I came by boat, through winds and waves,

But found myself in a cage of graves. Ashmore’s shores, where I first touched land,

My feet in chains, my future unplanned.

To Darwins heat, I was dragged away,

But it was Nauru that stole my day. On that forsaken isle of night,

Where sun is cruel and wrong feels right,

I was tortured, bruised, both mind and soul,

As if my life had no control. I screamed in silence, my voice unheard,

Crushed by laws that broke each word.

They took my time, my chance to be,

The man, the lover, the studentme. Why was I thrown into that hell?

For what crime, no one could tell.

The papers lied, the laws misplaced,

A future stolen, a life erased. In Melbournes camp, behind more bars,

I counted days, wished on dead stars.

Released at last, but what remains?

Just years of loss and endless chains. And now they threatenreturn or fall,

Return to the nightmare, return to the call.

But who will answer for what was done?

The life they shattered, the race they won. Australia, is this your barren land?

Where justice slips like desert sand?

You took my soul, you took my name,

And left me nothing but this flame. But know this fire will never die,

It burns in every tear I cry.

For all who suffered, for all who bled,

For lives that could have been instead. Tell me, Australia, are you proud?

Does justice scream or is it too loud? I ask you now, with bleeding heart

When will this nightmare fall apart? Australia, is this the land you swore,

Or just a barn of broken doors?

Watch the author read the poem:

Mohammad Salamat